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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Housing experts say low inventory, steady demand and the effects of the pandemic have kept Boston's rental market starting earlier each year.
Although the rental market usually does not reach its peak until April, the market has already been flooded with rentals starting in late January this year.
On Zillow and other listing sites, thousands of rentals across Boston have already been posted, and some of these leases will not start until September, which is eight months in advance.
Demetrios Salpoglou, CEO of Boston Pads, said that the earlier rental schedule is due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, many people left in a "tremendous exodus," leaving many leases "disheveled," he said. This gave landlords an opportunity to renovate properties during one of the highest vacancy rates in the city's rental history.
In more recent years, the housing market has begun to go back to its pre-COVID state. As more people returned to renting properties in Boston post-COVID, rental prices were initially lower and the apartments were more renovated than when tenants left, which encouraged them to stay in those apartments a little longer, said Salpoglou. And now, "we're on the backside of that [as] we're going into the third leasing cycle" since the pandemic, and people are now experiencing the effects of these trends.
Also, there was less construction of new units over the past four years due to the pandemic, and now "I think we're still playing the catch-up game as well," commented Salpoglou.
Due to these factors, the rental market has become tighter compared to what it was in 2019, Salpoglou explained. "Subsequent to COVID, it actually got tighter." This has led to landlords in neighborhoods like Allston-Brighton putting apartments on the market earlier, he added.
In general, the Boston rental market "is strong and tight. For every 100 apartments in Boston, 99 of them are occupied at any given time," said Salpoglou. On top of the low number of rental vacancies, he also explained that rentals are becoming more expensive as well, especially in neighborhoods like Allston-Brighton.
If someone is looking for a decent apartment in Boston starting in September, Salpoglou said, "I would tell them to start now."
WBZ's Chaiel Schaffel (@ChaielSchaffelWBZ) reports.
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